Today’s Web3 digest highlights the entry of various industries such as gaming, entertainment, sports, commerce, finance, and many more.

Names that made noise recently include the American Heart Association, the Dubai International Financial Centre, Dungeons & Dragons, eBay, Fraggle Rock, Hasbro, Jim Henson, Micah Johnson, and Toyota. 

Web3 projects are also on the move with several developments in the space. Headlining the news today are Gala Games, Gam3rs’ Choice Awards, Loot Mogul, Notable Live, Shima Capital, Sudoswap, and UniSwap, among others.

Lastly, Web3 games continue to bring life to the nascent space. Titles that made waves as of late include Big Time, Gunfire Avax, Chikn Game, ChronoForge, Illuvium, Magic Craft, MegaWorld, Shrapnel, and Shutdown.

Here are the stories that shape Web3.

Top Stories

• Jim Henson’s musical fantasy puppet TV show Fraggle Rock has launched an NFT collection on the Flow blockchain. Created in partnership with digital collectibles company Tibles, the project allows fans to obtain virtual trading cards of the popular 80s show’s characters. Users can purchase the NFTs through the official website, or the Tibles Fraggle Rock iOS app (CD).

• Wizards of the Coast, the publisher behind popular fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, has changed its stance against NFTs after drawing the ire of tabletop gamers. The Hasbro-owned company said that it is withdrawing its plans to update its Open Game License (a move that would’ve banned derivative NFT projects) (DC).

• The inaugural Gam3rs’ Choice Awards had a successful run in Miami on the 31st of January. Gaming fans have spoken and the winners are finally out. Adventure RPG Big Time bagged the Game of the Year crown, while Shrapnel won the Most Anticipated Game award. Stay tuned for more news on the first-ever in-person award show dedicated to Web3 gaming (TW).

• Virtual events platform Notable Live has formed a partnership with e-commerce company eBay. The entities plan to utilize NFTs to offer immersive sports-based experiences. According to eBay vice president of collectibles Dawn Block, the team-up will enable the “community of sports fans, collectors and investors” to “engage with living legends in a new and meaningful way” (BW).

• Japanese automotive giant Toyota has sponsored a Web3 hackathon on smart contract platform Astar Network’s COSMIZE event hall metaverse. Basically, the company has tasked participants to develop a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that would allow Toyota to operate the business and manage teams more efficiently (CD).

Web3 Games

• Avalanche-based mobile shooter game Gunfire Avax has kicked off Season 42 of its Endless Tournament. The competition will run from January 31-February 6. The team will give away a fixed prize of 25 $AVAX, plus added revenues based on the number of participants. In addition, players will also get a shot at the 20,600 GOLD prize pool (TW).

• Magic Craft, an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), teased some “Epic MagicCraft milestones” for Q1 2023. The Binance Smart Chain-based fantasy project plans to fully release its Web3 system, along with in-game voice chat features, as well as a rental system and map integration for NFTs (TW).

• Web3 city building strategy game MegaWorld is launching on February 15, its Land Gameplay on the BNB Chain. Towards the end of 2022, the Ethereum-based project expanded into BNB and released the first land plots in District #304 (CG).

• AAA RPG Illuvium has released an update to Illuvium: Zero on Mac, PC, and Android platforms. Illuvium: Zero Private Alpha recently went live for Landowners. To improve experiences, the team fixed some bugs in the Web3 game, including issues with audio, visuals, exploits, gameplay, and UI, among others (TW).

• Immutable X-based RPG project ChronoForge has announced that holders can now access its MindTome artificial intelligence (AI) demo. Basically, the latest offering allows players and developers to craft non-player characters (NPC) that are intelligent, “true-to-lore,” and capable of conversing with humans (TW).

• Breeding and building NFT game Chikn Game has released “State of the Chikn #9” to highlight some of the latest updates this year, along with the list of achievements in 2022. Some of the topics covered include Foraging and Crafting, among others. Moreover, the blog entry also touched on the Avalanche-based project’s newly launched play-to-own economy (TW).

NFT News

• Former Major League baseball (MLB) player Micah Johnson is launching a limited edition NFT collection called “Aku’s Heart.” The pro athlete-turned NFT artist partnered with nonprofit organization the American Heart Association to release the project in support of American Heart Month (H). 

• NFT marketplace Sudoswap airdropped $SUDO tokens to early liquidity providers on Sudoswap. According to a report, some users have received as much as $100,000 worth of tokens. Furthermore, holders of 0xmon NFTs were also eligible to receive the drop. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Pokemon and Lovecraft, 0xmon is a digital collectibles project created by Sudoswap’s founding team (CD).

• Web3-focused venture capital firm Shima Capital’s portfolio company Spice Finance recently dropped its first NFT collection. Titled “Prologue,” the project consists of 555 NFTs that represent a position in a decentralized finance (DeFi) vault. Subsequently, the digital collectibles sold out hours after going live (PRN).

Into the Metaverse

• UAE’s special economic zone the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has launched a metaverse platform. The project is part of the government’s Dubai Metaverse Strategy initiative. According to DIFC chief executive Arif Amiri, the platform aims to “accelerate the achievements of Dubai’s aspirations” in the metaverse sector (TNW).

• Japanese digital advertising company CyberAgent recently revealed plans to launch AI-created 3D advertisements for individual users in the metaverse. Essentially, the video ads will feature three-dimensional avatars of celebrities, with each one possessing unique traits for every viewer. CyberAgent’s 3D character creation program is part of the firm’s collaborative efforts with graphic cards company Nvidia (NFTG).

• Sports metaverse platform Loot Mogul has partnered with sports marketing agency Six Sport. The collaboration aims to push Web3 gaming adoption for athletes and sports organizations. Furthermore, the initiative also focuses on providing fans with immersive experiences including competitions and games, as well as physical and digital merchandise (PRN).

Around the Blockchain

• Structured finance platform builder Intain has launched IntainMarkets, a platform for issuing and trading asset-backed securities on an Avalanche subnet. In essence, IntainMarkets aims to simplify the structure of financial instruments. According to the company, removing complexities will make the assets more transparent, secure, and cost-efficient (TB).

• Cryptocurrency exchange UniSwap’s team of developers has emerged winners in Web3 gaming dev competition “Battle of the Titans.” Organizing the event is Matchbox DAO, a gaming ecosystem on Starkware. Participants that UniSwap bested include Chainlink, Ledger, NEAR, OKX, Polygon, and Yield Guild Games (CC).

• Crypto builders incubator Tane recently secured an estimated $8 million in a fundraising round. Based in Dubai, New York, and Tokyo, the firm invests in early-stage Web3 startups. Moreover, the company operates under Tane co-founder and managing partner Ikuma Itobe’s leadership (GNW). 

Web3 Content Creators

• Brycent: Twitch streamer and Web3 gaming advocate Brycent has been announced as the Gam3rs’ Choice Awards’ “Content Creator of the Year.” On Twitter, Brycent received love from the Ggslayer gamer community, as well as fellow gamer and community leader Spike.

• Cagy: Prior to the Gam3rs’ Choice Awards, Web3 gaming YouTuber Cagy was seen with Axie Infinity legend cloudwhite. At the awards show, Cagy was also spotted hanging out with another Axie celebrity Laura Giraldo (aka Laura or AxieLau) from Colombia. 

• Spike: One of the intriguing projects that Spike recently highlighted is a Web3 shooter game called “Shutdown.” The team released a video trailer earlier today showcasing the title’s actual gameplay. Basically, the game is set in a future where the human race is utilizing “cyborg super-soldiers” to “fight the AI threat.”

• Stache: “Secret Agent” Stache recently shared a bunch of updates and developments from Web3 game company Gala Games. The Web3 content creator put the spotlight on Gala’s foray into various entertainment mediums such as film and music. In addition, Stache also mentioned Gala’s upcoming titles, as well as partnerships with NBC, Universal, and AMC, among others.